Salamis

Salamis is the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, located 1 mile off the coast of Piraeus and 10 miles west of Athens. It was first colonized by Aegina and later occupied by Megara, but it became an Athenian possession during Athens' war with Megara in 600 BC. Salamis provided 12 ships for the Trojan War, and the ships were commanded by Ajax. Salamis became famous as the site of the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC, during which the Athenians won the most important naval battle of the Greco-Persian Wars and saved Greece from a naval invasion. On 23 April 1941, during World War II, the harbor was bombed by the German Luftwaffe. In 2011, the island had a population of 39,283 people.